Abstract

MUNTO, Alejandro. The struggle for housing in a capitalist city. The case of self-managed cooperative “El Molino”. Psicol. Conoc. Soc. [online]. 2018, vol.8, n.1, pp.62-85.  Epub June 01, 2020. ISSN 1688-7026.  https://doi.org/10.26864/pcs.v8.n1.4.

This paper analizes the implementation of a housing policy directed towards popular classes in Buenos Aires, the “Programa de Autogestión para la Vivienda” (Self-management for Housing Program), by studying the case of a self-managed cooperative, El Molino. This research is carried with a qualitative methodology, emphasizing field work through participatory observations during regular community meetings, backed up by semi-structured interviews.

In a city immersed in the processes of neoliberal urbanization, access to proper housing for the working class is increasingly difficult. With Law 341, social organizations in Buenos Aires have acquired means for funding housing cooperatives, though its actual implementation runs accross several obstacles, specially concerning the cash flow that the State should guarantee. Despite the weathering that cooperativists suffer due to such constant delays, diverse strategies are developed in the community meanwhile, to keep the construction from stopping. Thus, the right to the city may be exercised within a social organization, but always in the terms of a struggle against this system's guidelines.

Keywords : Cooperativism; Housing policies; Self-management.

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